Sure is the Risk Made (2009) is the album which I think has been my most popular so far. It has some of my most accessible, tightly-composed songs juxtaposed with a much more sombre, bleak side: Up Periscope, which gained some BBC airplay, is energetic, melodic and really quite poppy, whereas the black heart of the album is formed by the space and staccato noise of Paternoster.

My intention here was for the album to slide from upbeat and relaxing into darker, more difficult territory, and accordingly, paranoia, psychosis and anxiety are never lurking far behind the ambient facade of the album. There's often a deliberate provocation and aggression in the rhythmic content as well as in the tonal content, and for the first time on this album I play with the distinction between the two. The subject matter is thematically linked by my ongoing fascination with the cold war, but there's a broader appeal here to natural forces that are just too difficult for us to comprehend (see Byford Dolphin, and google it too, maybe).

The main thing though is that you will probably like this album. People seem to. Give it a go.

Cover photo and design by conelrad.

Thanks to Jani, Gedanken and Screeb for the mirrors! Please copy this music and give it to your friends. It's free for everyone and there are no catches.

If you like conelrad's music, do feel free to donate a few bucks. You'll be helping out an independent artist in what is a very difficult time for musicians.